Jacob Purcell likes to joke that tequila saved his life.
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The 27-year-old Dapto man was out in Sydney with his partner Maddi Quilty celebrating their anniversary in August, when he took a tequila shot and started to experience strange symptoms.
"I thought maybe I've been drink spiked or something," he said.
"I had a metallic taste in my mouth, I got pins and needles in my tongue and really blurred vision for a few seconds. But then it was all over - I just thought it was the shot, because I really don't like the taste of tequila."
"But actually, that was my first symptom."
Over the next couple of weeks, these sensations - later diagnosed as microseizures - kept happening and became more frequent.
By mid-September, Jacob had been diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer and was being rushed to hospital so neurosurgeons could remove a tumour almost as big a tennis ball from the right side of his brain.
"I had an MRI on September 9, and then by the time I got home after the test, they'd contacted me to say you need to get back to hospital as soon as possible," he said.
"They said 'you're not to drive from now on, and you have to come to hospital now'."
Maddi said Jacob was diagnosed with a Grade 4 astrocytoma, also known as glioblastoma - a fast growing, aggressive form of brain cancer which is almost always fatal.
"They gave him a life expectancy of 12 to 18 months," she said.
"They basically said it's incurable, but they can try and hold it with treatment."
He will soon start intense radiation and chemotherapy to try to stop the cancer from growing, and will continue with this treatment - with breaks in between - for six months to a year.
"I'm scared, very scared - because we can't fix this, all we can do is make the rest of the time as good as we can," Maddi said.
The couple have a three-year-old daughter, Lula, and were engaged in August, just after they moved into the historic Brownsville cottage Jacob - a carpenter - had been renovating on his days off.
"When I finished this place, I went to buy a ring, and on the first day as we were moving in I set my phone up in the corner and when she walked in I asked her," he said.
They initially planned to get married next year, but have since moved the wedding to early November.
"The best thing that Jacob has said to me is to not wait for the things you want to do in life - so don't say you might do something another day, because you might not have another day," Maddi said.
It's strange that it's come to this, but I've probably never been more positive in my life. There's no room for negative s--t, there's only room for living how you want to live and being happy.
- Jacob Purcell
This attitude helped the couple to travel, renovate and embrace life with little Lula before Jacob's diagnosis, and has sustained them in the tough weeks.
"If I had one message to people, it would be not to hold back in life - because at 27 years old I've got a very short time to live but it doesn't mean that its over at all," he said.
"Finding out the life expectancy was the hardest part, but I'm trying to be as positive as possible. And that's how I've lived my whole life."
"With Lula, I don't really think about not being here. And I get people to come over all the time, to keep me busy. Having them around, coming to see me, has helped."
The family has also received support from family and friends - who have brought them meals, sent messages and donated to their GoFundMe campaign, which Maddi's sister set up to help them through Jacob's treatment.
While cancer will shorten his life, Jacob remains hopeful he could live longer than expected and said he has given himself over to numerous trials and research projects into brain cancer.
"I know this is a serious thing to have and the percentage of people who live is not very high, but they are usually much older and I'm young, reasonable fit and positive," he said.
"It's strange that it's come to this, but I've probably never been more positive in my life. There's no room for negative s--t, there's only room for living how you want to live and being happy."
"There's not much research on what I have, so in between my treatment, I'm trying to do any extra trials and tests. I want to help other people have a better chance than me."
Jacob, Maddi and Lula will also join in the Walk4BrainCancer being held at Beaton Park at the end of this month to raise money for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.
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